BY LORRAINE MUROMO Small-scale farmers are set to benefit from the Green Climate Fund which seeks to mitigate drought and other climate change induced disasters.
The project is funded by the United Development Fund (UNDP) to the tune of US$360 000.
Under the project, the UNDP donated meteorological and hydrological equipment comprising of 26 automated weather stations,10 automatic rainfall stations and 10 data loggers for hydrological stations to the ministries of Agriculture, Tourism and Environment.
Speaking on behalf of Lands and Agriculture minister, Anxious Masuka at the handover ceremony yesterday, the strategic planning and business chief director in the ministry, Clemence Taderera Bwenje said the equipment was key towards mitigating climate change-induced droughts.
“Due to climate change the 2021/22 harvest was not as we all expected. The season started late. My theory is that we did not fall below the 2019/20 production level as a result of the resilience that was achieved through Pfumvudza,” Bwenje said.
“As we move into the 2022/23 season, our theme as the ministry is Bounce Back Better and indeed with such partnership with the Green Climate Fund, we will bounce back better.”
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UNDP resident representative, Eliman Jagne, said Zimbabwe has limited capacity in interpreting climate information due to lack of forecasting software.
“Given this background, the need for additional weather, hydrological stations, and other monitoring systems remains pertinent,” Jagne said.
“The UNDP Green Climate Fund and Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) projects thus seek to complement various government needs, and incentives in making the ministry a conducive place to achieve the climate adaptation milestones…”
The ZRBF is a long-term development initiative with an overall objective of contributing to increased capacity of communities in the face of natural disasters.
Green Climate Fund project manager Alleta Nyahuye said the equipment would help boost food security.
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